Tougher recycling and water quality standards for Europe

The European Parliament has agreed on tougher standards for recycling and water quality, which will now have to be adopted by the individual EU member countries. The new rules will not change much for Austria, which already holds an environmental pole position. The Alpine country is famous for having some of the strictest environmental laws within the European Union.

By 2020 every EU member country will have to reach a 50% rate of recycling for all glass, paper, metal and household waste (current average rate: 27%). The target for non-hazardous construction and demolition waste is 70%. 33 water pollutants face new quality standards, mainly pesticides and heavy metals.

For Austria, where 95% of all packaging materials like paper, glass, plastics and metal is collected separately from residual waste, and 88% of all flowing water is drinking water quality, these goals should be easy-to-reach.